A little while back, I wandered up to Holywell for a mooch around with the plan to head first to Polly Joke and then onto Crantock. I’d never been before and after making it through the excess of holiday-makers, I finally found the sea.
I walked from the right hand side of the beach (facing the sea) and headed by the coast, joining the coast path up one of the steep banks. In one of the caves on the right side of the beach at low tide you can also find the origins of this wonderful beaches name; this is St Cuthbert’s Cave where a fall of water mixed with mineral deposits has made a beautiful feature.
The coastpath at the top of the sand dunes heads over the Kelsey’s, where there is an over abundance of sheep. This area was once home to an Iron Age barrow.
This high elevation offers some amazing views of the north coast.
Rounding the headland, Polly Joke or Porth Joke will soon come into view. On the day I was there, several seals were playing in the sea.
This is a deep cove with lots of flat sand.
The whole walk follows the coasthpath, just be mindful of any tides and the sheep.
There is a large pay and display carpark at Holywell Bay run by the National Trust.